Service 10
Thermal drone search for a missing animal
A thermal camera reads heat instead of light, so a warm body stands out against cool ground from the air. We cover in twenty minutes what would take a search party an afternoon, and we report positions while we are still on site.
How a search works
- You tell us where the animal was last seen and which areas you want covered, and we fly those areas wherever it is legal and safe to do so
- We walk you through what we are doing and what you will be looking at, then get the aircraft up, usually about five minutes after arrival
- The camera reads heat signatures, so a warm body shows through tall grass, brush, treelines and the space under a deck or a trailer
- We report positions as we find them, with coordinates and a described location you can walk to
- Approaching, catching and bringing the animal home stays with you and your ground team, because a frightened animal comes to a familiar voice
When we fly, and why the timing matters
Two windows work best: the last few hours before sunset, and from first light through early morning before the ground warms up. In both, the ground is cool enough that a warm body stands out, and there is still enough daylight to see what we are looking at.
That second part matters more than it sounds. A thermal camera shows heat, not identity. A warm shape in a treeline reads much the same whether it is a dog, a deer, a coyote or a moose. We fly when the light lets us confirm what we have found before we tell you where to go. An overcast day widens the window, because without direct sun the ground holds less heat and contrast stays usable for longer.
How to get ready
- Have a recent photo and the last seen time and place
- Tell us up front about every area you want covered, so we can plan one visit around all of them
- Keep the area quiet during the flight, with people and other pets settled indoors, so the heat we see is the heat we are looking for
- Have a leash, a carrier and familiar food ready to go
- Let us know about livestock, neighbouring properties and anything on the ground we should plan around
What a search costs
- First two hours
- $400
- Each hour after
- $150
- Travel
- $100/hr outside Edmonton, round trip
- Sherwood Park / Beaumont
- about $100 travel
- Westlock / Wetaskiwin
- about $200 travel
- Red Deer
- about $300 travel
- Payment
- Arranged before the flight
The clock starts when we arrive and covers the whole visit: the walkthrough, the flying, the battery swaps and the time spent reporting positions back to you. If you want a second area searched partway through, we can pack up and drive to it, and that time counts the same as the rest. Tell us about every spot before we start and we will plan the visit around all of them.
The fee covers the flight rather than the outcome. The same hours and the same cost apply whether the animal turns up in the first ten minutes, in the last ten, or the search carries on another day.
What we search for
5 situationsDogs and cats
Acreages, shelterbelts, river valley and the edges of town, where an animal has gone to ground somewhere a person walking past would not see it.
Horses and livestock
Open pasture and quarter sections, where the ground is large enough that covering it on foot takes longer than the daylight allows.
After a fence or gate failure
Fast coverage of the ground around a property to find where animals went before they reach a road.
Herd checks and counts
Locating and counting animals across pasture in one pass rather than a morning of driving fence lines.
Coordinated ground search
Flying alongside a search already underway, so the people on the ground get pointed at the places worth walking.
Tell us the last seen location and the ground you want covered, and we will tell you the next daylight window we can reach you in.
Start a searchCommon questions
Answered plainlyHow soon can you fly?
Most searches are flown the same day or the next morning, because the useful windows are the last hours before sunset and the first after dawn. Call and we will tell you the next window we can reach you in.
Why not fly in the middle of the night?
A thermal camera reads heat, not identity. In full darkness a warm shape in a treeline reads much the same whether it is a dog, a deer, a coyote or a moose. We fly when the ground is still cool but there is enough light to confirm what we have found, so nobody is sent walking toward an animal we cannot identify.
Does an overcast day help or hurt?
It helps. Without direct sun the ground holds less heat, contrast stays usable for longer, and the window widens.
What happens if the animal is not found?
The fee covers the flight rather than the outcome. The same hours and the same cost apply whether the animal turns up in the first ten minutes, in the last ten, or the search carries on another day. We will tell you honestly what a flight is likely to achieve in your conditions before you commit to one.
Can you fly over a neighbour's land?
We fly the areas you point us to wherever it is legal and safe to do so, and we plan the coverage around property lines and any livestock or hazards you tell us about.
